NSL: Opening day wins for Marlins, Mannas and Dolphins

Toa Payoh Sports Hall, Saturday, February 25, 2012 — There were opening day wins for Nike Marlins, Mission Mannas and Blaze Dolphins in the 13th edition of the Fairprice Foundation Netball Super League (NSL).

Six teams are battling it out for a share of the S$23,000 prize money, with the winning side netting S$10,000.

Over the next two months, the teams will play a double round-robin format over the first seven weekends. The top four teams will then compete in the semi-finals. The final is scheduled for April 28th.

This year, the league will include five foreign players who will each be assigned to one of the teams, with the Sneakers Stingrays opting to play without a foreigner. The foreigners will play from week five of the competition.

The Nike Marlins beat their rivals Sneakers Stingrays 57-38 in the opening game.

The Marlins lead 12-8 after the first quarter and had a seven-goal lead by half time. They continued to dominate in the remaining two quarters to wrap up the win.

Said Noraida Binte Abdul Malik, the Marlins assistant coach: “That was a good start for us, I am very happy. We were a bit nervous at the start but it was a good game and we hope we can continue that form through the season. There is a lot we need to fine tune so we can definitely get better.”

Malik highlighted Nur Liyana Noordin (WA) as a stand out performer for the team saying: “She is a new player in the team and blended very well, making some excellent feeds.”

The next match saw the Mission Mannas beat the M1 Starfish 48-36.

Mannas held a 27-18 lead at half time after some disjointed play by both teams as they tried to settle into their rhythm.

M1 Starfish made a few key changes for the second half, bringing on national players Shelby Koh at Centre and Cassandra Soh at Goal Shooter. Cassandra was up against fellow national player Chen Li Li in the circle and she played aggressively to help narrow the deficit.

However, the Mannas stretched their lead further in the final quarter on the back of Charmaine Soh’s 89% shooting to win 48-36.

The final match saw the Blaze Dolphins beat the Bedok Kings Vipers 36-27.

The Vipers, a mostly expatriate team, had the advantage in height and power while the smaller-sized Dolphins showed their faster pace, resulting in end to end action throughout.

Chen Huifen in attack for the Blaze against Olivia Jane Flanagan in defence for the Vipers made for an exciting battle. At the same time, at the other end, Lin Qingyi was working hard against Viper Shooter Jordan Hannah Rowcliffe.

The Vipers led by two goals (18-16) at half-time but the Blaze took a four-goal 26-22 lead going into the final quarter. The Blaze outscored the Vipers 10-5 in the final quarter to wrap up the win.